What if
by cybergirl26
Summary: Basically a different take on how season 7 could have ended if things would have gone differently in "Symphony of Illumination".


I was bored today so I started to write a story, probably going to be 2 or 3 parts in total, so nothing too long.

Part I

He had been on edge the entire weekend, ever since Robin had broken the news that she might be pregnant to him.

Barney Stinson didn't want kids. Yes, the whole adopting a child with Ted incident that happened last week seemed to prove the contrary but that was a fluke.

He didn't actually want a child, and for good reasons, as the visit at Wee-Bee Babies had shown.

They made messes, didn't care for expensive formal wear, and just overall made you unawesome.

Which was why he was hoping for a negative from Dr. Sonya.

Standing here next to Robin while they waited was nerve-racking.

Neither one of them had said anything since they got here, he hadn't even made any dirty jokes while Dr. Sonya asked Robin embarrassing questions.

He had been surprised when Robin had asked whether or not he wanted to accompany her to this doctor's appointment.

Usually she wasn't the type of girl who needed someone there for emotional support.

And usually he wasn't someone who gave it either.

But this was Robin, so he had agreed, even though the whole situation was surreal and awkward as hell.

Dr. Sonya finally entered the room again, a clip chart in hand.

She first mistaken him for Robin's husband, then her boyfriend before finally breaking the news.

"You, pregnant!"

Oh god no, was all Barney could think, until he looked at Robin, all color had drained from her face and she was clearly fighting with tears.

Seeing her like that immediately stirred something in him and he leaned down and hugged her, holding her tight.

"It's okay, we'll be okay." He whispered into her ear.

Robin didn't reply, instead Dr. Sonya was the one who broke the silence.

"Congratulations!"

Barney pulled back, but kept his arm around Robin.

"This is a little information binder, it includes things like do's and don't and frequently asked questions."

Robin was still unresponsive, so Barney took the binder.

"Do you have any questions?" Dr. Sonya asked.

Barney shook his head, "I think we are fine for the moment."

"Okay, you need to schedule an ultrasound with my assistant, probably six weeks from now."

Barney nodded and briefly let go of Robin to shake Dr. Sonya's hand.

Then they were alone again.

"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively while rubbing her back.

"This is a disaster." Robin replied.

"Hey, no, it's a surprise yeah, but…"

"I never wanted kids." Robin stated.

"How about we get out of here and discuss this somewhere more private?" Barney suggested.

Robin silently agreed by getting up. He placed his hand on her back and guided her out of the doctor's office and into a cab, forgetting all about making further appointments for the moment.

He gave the cabby his address.

They stayed silent during the entire ride, with Robin wiping away a tear every now and then. They finally arrived at the fortress and Barney lead her up to the apartment.

The apartment she hadn't sat a foot in since that night.

Robin really started to cry the second the door shut behind them and Barney pulled her into yet another hug.

"Hey, Robin, come here…" it was so strange to see her this emotional.

The embrace only made Robin cry harder.

Barney sighed and finally lead her towards his bedroom. He went through the same motion as he did with his countless one-night-stands, yet the situation was a totally different one.

Kicking off his shoes, he guided Robin onto the bed with him and finally pulled the covers over them both.

"It's going to be okay." He whispered once again, but Robin was clearly not going to calm down anytime soon and so Barney just let her cry it out.

She eventually fell asleep, which gave him the opportunity to think about what had happened today.

Robin was indeed pregnant. With his child.

As much as he didn't want a kid, he also knew that he could never abandon one the way his dad did.

Especially not when Robin was the mother.

He would be all in. If Robin wanted to keep the baby, then he would do everything in his power to ensure that both of them had everything they deserved and needed.

A small grin spread over his face at the thought of Kevin.

This pregnancy would surely mean the end for him and Robin, and while he didn't have anything against Kevin perse, he still liked the thought of him not being around Robin anymore.

…

"Hey sleepyhead." Barney whispered when Robin finally opened her eyes again two hours later.

"Hey."

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Depends, am I still pregnant?"

Barney smiled and let their hands intertwine.

He gave her a moment to wake up fully before asking, "what do you want to do now?"

Robin sighed, "I never wanted kids Barney…and I mean this situation is more than complicated. We aren't even dating."

Barney nodded.

"But on the other hand, what are the chances for you to knock me up after one time, right? Maybe it's just because I'm living with Ted and he constantly talks about it, but what if there really is such a thing as the universe."

"The universe?" Barney grinned, "I doubt the universe had anything to do with this, my little guys are simply good. And yes it was only one night, but I got a few shots in, if you know what I mean." He winked at her.

"We used condoms." She countered.

He shrugged, there were a ton of funny replied on his mind, but he reminded himself that he needed to take this serious, that she needed to see that he was capable of taking something serious.

"What happened, happened. Question is how we move forward now?" Barney asked.

"As I said, I never wanted a baby, but on the other hand, I also don't want to die alone one day. And I know this is extremely sentimental, but I kind of like the thought of having someone who will always love me unconditionally."

Barney nodded, he kind of got that.

"What about you? How do you feel about this?" Robin asked.

"It's your decision, Robin. You would be the one who would have to endure the pregnancy and giving birth. Having said that, I kind of like the thought of having a mini you running around with my genes in it. And I am not as opposed to children as you always were, I mean I never wanted a kid, but I always liked them. But it's totally up to you, I will support you no matter which path you choose."

Robin nodded and sighed, "man, what am I going to tell Kevin?"

She seemed to have realized what she had said and quickly apologized, "sorry, I didn't mean to bring him up. This is between you and me."

Barney shrugged, "he's your boyfriend, and you clearly love him, I get that he is on your mind too."

"We messed up, didn't we?"

Barney didn't feel like repeating that he didn't regret their night.

"And then I really messed up. I should have texted you from the hospital, or called you, or done something to stop you from breaking up with Nora. I'm really sorry I didn't Barney."

"You think I was upset about breaking up with Nora that night?" Barney asked surprised.

"You could still be with her, if I had only made up my mind sooner, or would have thought of calling you. I know it's not an excuse, like at all, but I didn't think you would actually go through with it. And the part of me that believed you when you said you would break up with her, was also kind of the part that was trying to break you and Nora up before. I know I'm a horrible person for putting you through this, but it wasn't that long after the assault and all those feelings that lead to it."

"Assault?" Barney asked confused.

"Oh right, you don't know about that. Forget I said anything, it's not important."

"Robin stop that, we have to communicate, no matter how we move forward, we will only be able to get back to normal if we talk things out."

She shook her head, "it's not important."

"Tell me, and I will tell you what really happened the night I broke up with Nora."

Robin was clearly intrigued and agreed by nodding.

"Remember the night Nora came back early from the trip? Well, I had kind of planned to spend the evening with you, dressing up, broing out… and maybe also seducing you."

"What?" Barney asked surprised, he vaguely remembered the night.

"But then she showed up and you guys left, I was hurt and may or may not have send a skank to you to intervene with you and Nora's date. But then I realized that my jealously was getting out of hand and that you deserved to be happy, so I went down to the restaurant myself and tackled her. Got mandated therapy for it, and that's how I met Kevin." She finished.

"Wow." Barney started to grin, "you were jealous of Nora? Ohh!"

"Anyways, that night on the boat? I didn't think you would go through with it, really, I didn't, but I didn't particularly like Nora being your girlfriend either so I didn't text or call you to stop you either. I'm sorry, I really screwed up."

"Robin I broke up with Nora because I realized that I wasn't in love with her. It didn't have anything to do with our night or the deadline we had set each other. It wasn't about that."

No, Nora was not the one he was in love with, Robin was. But telling her that now, in their current situation, with her still being in a relationship with Kevin and knocked up by him seemed like a very selfish thing to do.

She had so much to process already, he didn't want to add to that by bringing his feelings into it.

He had the next 18+ years of his life to get Robin Scherbatsky to fall in love with him again, at least if she decided to keep the baby.


End file.
